Despite Fire, New York Cathedral Services Go On

With the smell of smoke still hanging in the air, the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine forged ahead with Christmas Eve services less than a week after a fire threatened to close the huge Episcopal church for the holiday season.

The church, which holds about 5,000 people, was three-fourths full for a Christmas Eve service. The choir sang hymns near a wall covered with scaffolding.

Church officials were determined not to let the Dec. 18 fire disrupt Christmas plans.

Karen Hung Kees and her family drove from Greenwich, Conn., to show support for the Gothic church, one of the largest cathedrals in the world.

“When we heard about the fire we thought, ‘Not another tragedy for the city,’ ” Hung Kees said. She said the church’s reopening so quickly “gives people a sense of hope.”

The blaze was contained outside the church’s nave, but it severely damaged two 17th century tapestries inside. The fire apparently began inside the nearby gift shop, which was destroyed.